Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to transport devices, and more particularly to patient transport devices.
Background Art
Moving patients around a hospital or other healthcare facility can be a challenge. Patients are not rigid objects designed for easy lifting. Instead, they bend and contort and can be difficult to lift. This difficulty is compounded when the person is elderly, suffering from injury, or obese. When lifting is not performed properly, the patient can be injured.
Prior art patient transfer devices have been developed. Such devices generally come in one of two flavors: a flat mattress or a sling with complicated connectors and harnesses. The flat mattress can ease the lateral movement of a patient. However, it provides little help in lifting a patient, as lifting the mattress can cause the patient to slide off onto the floor.
Prior art devices using connectors for lifting facilitate vertical movement of the patient. However, the connectors of such devices are complex to use and can make lateral movement of the patient extremely difficult. Moreover, the connector schemes of these devices are frequently unsightly and include numerous connectors and straps that, when left exposed, can catch a patient's arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Navigating connection devices of some prior art patient transfer devices is not unlike trying to unknot the proverbial “rat's nest” of fishing line when it unspools in a tackle box. It is time consuming and tedious. It would be advantageous to have an improved patient transport device.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.